Stir up the beast inside
by DarknessBloodAngel
Summary: I'm hungry for something, something... I can't control. Instead it controls me, it turns me into a monster.
1. Chapter 1

**This chapter - or prologue for want of a better word - is more like a taster of the events that begin the story. I don't give much away, but I hope you all like it and I'll need over eight reviews for an update as this story needs support and love to continue, as does any. :-)**

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A maniacal laugh broke the silence of the night.

The musical rhythm of mechanical whirring and machinery beeping piped up into a chorus as fingers pressed on buttons, flicked switch and strange chemicals in bottles glowed and bubbled around a large table that was adorned with thick-looking restraints on all four corners.

Finally, now he had the diamonds, his project would work. It would create a historic day where the boundaries of human biology was changed and they were no longer bound to their weaknesses. That was if the subject in question was strong enough to survive the initial process.

A muffled whimper came from a darkened corner of the room, causing him to look up from the dials he had been about to turn.

He turned towards where it had come from, staring at the small cage with dog-eared bedding and two dirty-looking ceramic bowls in front of it. One with a sandwich that a small nibble taken out of it had mould growing over it and the other held a little water, the frugal amount tainted and undrinkable.

He moved his eyes slightly, a large chain trailing from where it was it was bolted to the wall, to inside the cage. The subject inside reared its ashen and bruised face, its eyes glimmering with pain. Its treatment was cruel to say the least, it was the treatment of an animal, but that was all that the young boy was - a means to experiment on.

It whimpered again, its head lolling around helplessly, every word blocked by the leather belt muzzling its mouth. It wasn't in good shape and he couldn't have that; its eyes were circled in darkness, its skin was transparent and its ribs were visible with each raspy breath it took.

"Are you hungry?" he asked briskly, bending down to its eye-level. it nodded, slowly, as if it was wary of him. He couldn't blame him though, he _had_ forced it into the cage and to be his tester. Its skepticism was understandable.

Sighing heavily, he reached out and unlatched the cage's door, opening it and yanking it out harshly. It yelped in pain as it landed on the floor and he spat in disgust. This subject definitely hadn't been his first choice, but it sufficed. That was until it succumbed to the effects of imprisonment. He just hoped the tests would sort it out.

"You can eat when we're done," he told it in a softer tone, bending down to unbuckle the belt from around its mouth. He pulled the belt away and it took in some air in a cracked breath.

Its eyes widened to a considerable size, gasping in surprise as he flicked a switch and the lab was suddenly filled with bright light. Its now squinted eyes - it had been a few months since it had seen any - landed on the table and looked like it was going to try to run away. He smirked; it had tried that once, it got as far as the door before the alarms had gone off. It had been muzzled and shackled ever since.

"Come on." He yanked it up by the chain around its neck, its feet dangling in the air. It choked and struggled, but he wouldn't let go. He started walking towards the table and it let out the most piercing shriek he had ever heard in his life.

"_No!_"

His brow furrowed in anger and he shook it violently, but it didn't stop screaming, it carried on; it scratched wildly at him, snapped its teeth, trying desperately to catch his finger in them. It kicked out at him and he grabbed its leg, holding it firmly underneath his arm, covering its mouth, silencing his pathetic screams.

They only amplified as it was placed on the table. He covered its mouth with one hand while it squirmed and struggled with everything it had left. It didn't understand how potentially great it could be if the tests worked, he had given up on explaining since it refused to listen and kept dwelling on the negative side of things.

He forced one of its arms above its head and shackled one down, the other, also with great difficulty. That was half the battle done, now he had his violently fighting legs to contend with. He had managed to restrain one with ease, but the other had smashed into his jaw. Spitting out blood, he gritted his teeth and forced it into submission, tightening all the restraints around it.

He glared at it and it glared back. He ignored it and began fastening metal wires to all the vital limbs - arms, legs, head and chest - of its body that would be amplified after the experiment. It whimpered in pain as each needle was pushed through his skin and tiny beads of blood started appearing around where the wires had penetrated its skin.

He turned away and flicked on all the necessary machines. Chemicals bubbled inside large containers and strange whirring noises rumbled from each of the machines. It was finally happening, this was the day where he would have created a new type of human, superior to everyone in every way.

It was struggling once more, pleading with him - one would have thought he was about to defile its innocence or take his life - to stop, but he shook his head and flicked the last switch. Nothing was getting in his way of a Nobel Prize and a mention in the book of the greatest names of all time. That title _would_ be his.

Lights flickered around the room, diverting his attention back to the subject. His eyes narrowed in confusion as its eyes closed and all its struggles suddenly ceased as if it had been a hyperactive toy that had just been switched off. He fiddled with a few of the dials, turning them up to higher velocities, but nothing else happened.

He was certain that the subject shouldn't have been still and sleeping, it was supposed to be _awake_ as the bone marrow was being replaced with metal. Nevertheless, he couldn't stop now, too much of the chemicals had been used and it was too risky to stop now. If he stopped now, there was a good chance the subject would die, at least it could live with the defects, should there be any.

A machine a few meters away from him beeped as it was empty of the chemicals it had contained. He grabbed his clipboard and scanned over his notes, none of this should be happening. Right now, the subject's veins were supposed to be glowing blue.

But there was no veins glowing blue, nothing was going as it should be. The subject was convulsing violently against the restraints, writhing as if something was trying to force its way from its chest. Its screams had stopped and it was clenching its fists so tightly its knuckles were _white._

It slumped for a final time and he put his clipboard down, nervously making his way over to the table. He truly couldn't understand what had gone wrong, but he would have to keep trying if he was going to get his name in the history books. It was the mark of any great Scientist, and he was a _great Scientist_.

He peered over the subject, searching for any sign of life. A belt snapped loudly and his arm was suddenly snatched up in a vice-like grip that felt like iron. He looked down to see a boy with a feral snarl and burning _red_ eyes.

This _definitely_ shouldn't have been happening.

He screamed in pain as it sunk two rows of extremely sharp, jagged teeth into his hand. It growled before yanking its head back, tearing his hand in half. He fell backwards, cradling his wound, groaning in disgust as it began to chew on his fingers with carnivorous mannerisms.

Blood dripped down from its chin and it slurped it up greedily. It's piercing red eyes rounded on him and it leapt off the table, cutting through the restraints with ease. He frantically looked around for something to fight it off with, but there was nothing except a syringe full of chemicals. He didn't need to make this... _thing_ any more dangerous than it was shaping up to be.

Its lips drew back in a snarl, ready to sink them into him and tear him to pieces, but it stopped short. Sniffing the air, it turned its head towards the window, growling lowly before rushing forwards with speed much faster than it previously had, throwing its body through the window, smashing it with ease.

He took a deep breath, tearing off a bit of his shirt to wrap up his bloody appendage in. He stood up, surveying the carnage. His eyes then landed on an unlit machine. It was the one that was supposed to turn on, but he couldn't figure out which one he _hadn't_ needed to turn on.

Horrifying shrieks were heard from below him, indicating that the thing had survived the five-storey jump and was now taking out all its unreserved anger on unsuspecting and innocent citizens. He swallowed nervously as they struck up a never-ending melody.

He had created a _monster_.

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**Alright, I don't think I've written anything for someone that crazy! Okay, there **_**was**_** that one time I was getting into Jack the Ripper's head... Yeah, I'm not kidding. Anyway, reviews would be nice please, even though this is only a teaser.**

**Oh, and I had to keep the characters as 'he' and 'it' for now, but everything will be starting next chapter. :-)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey to anyone who's reading (feels like no-one lately) I'm sorry I took so long, but I was completely writer blocked and my inspiration had left me, but it's back now and the next chapter is up.**

**Alright, this message is something I've put on everything I've updated, just to hopefully get my point across a little more. I appreciate every review I get, but it's really frustrating and disappointing to see a large amount of readers (well over 200 for some of my newer stories) and a small amount of reviewers. I actually want to hear what people think about my work, since I'm putting it on this site and available for people to read. Even a little constructive criticism from time to time is welcome because I actually think I do need it. **

**But thanks to the three people that did review.**

**Dj - It's only about to get crazier. ;)**

**T.G Mikaelson - I don't want to say much, but I will admit to it being a supernatural story. ;)**

**PinkBlossomParadise - Thank you very much.**

** 'itLover14 - Thanks for reviewing and I'm not saying anything yet. ;)**

**.**

**I'll need more people to review for an update, because if I don't, it honestly feels pointless continuing this story if hundreds are going to read (and **_**that's**_** great), but none are going to say anything. :) And since this is only nine chapters long, I'm gonna need some support on this; I kinda wanna reach 100 reviews before finishing, that way I feel like I've actually accomplished something. :)**

**Alright, away from all that. This chapter picks up in Jerry's POV and the rest of the story will be in his POV. If I did it in Jack's, the mystery would be over pretty quickly. ;)**

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Jerry Martinez tapped his pencil impatiently against his lips, putting the end between his teeth as he tried to wrap his head around the dates and the words jotted all over the black board that he was supposed to have been copying down for the past ten minutes. He couldn't wait for class to be over and get to lunch. It was the best class of the day, except for home time, he decided.

"Mr. Martinez?" Mr Gradstein called.

Jerry paused in his frantic copying of the board and looked up, knowing he was either about to get told off for not paying attention, or get picked on to answer a question.

"Perhaps you can enlighten us on the Magna Carta?" He looked at him like he was regarding a small child, but everyone in his class got that treatment. He never played favourites, not even when someone broke their arm; he just told them to write with their other hand.

Jerry rubbed a hand across his face. "Isn't that an ice cream?" he said cheekily, grinning like little imp as his classmate's began sniggering.

Mr. Gradstein looked about ready to glare him into detention, but the lunch bell rang - just in the nick of time before Jerry would have been lectured on his 'laziness' and swamped with chicken noodle and cigarette breath - stopping him.

"Okay, class," Mr Gradstein called over the chatter of everyone packing up, sending Jerry a murderous glare that said, 'We'll deal with this later, young man'. "Your homework's due in tomorrow and _no excuses_ to those who've had 'printer problems'," he said, eyeing a band of students at the back who shuffled sheepishly under his piercing gaze.

_Guess that'll be me cramming all night again_, Jerry thought as he rushed out of the classroom to avoid being called back in. It wasn't that he didn't do his homework because he was lazy, other things like new video game releases and Karate practices took priority.

Jerry made his way to the lunch hall and spotted Kim and Milton sat at their usual table among the cluster of students. He walked over to them, sitting down and slamming his bag on the table, opening his lunch and getting his salad out - he was fifteen and his Mum still insisted on packing him his lunch - without a word.

"You've just had History, haven't you?" Milton guessed.

"How'd you guess?" Jerry said, taking out a fork and poking at his salad, pushing the tomatoes to the sides.

"Well," Milton began slowly. "You're stabbing your salad," he pointed out.

Jerry's brow furrowed in confusion before he looked down. "Oh." He hadn't even been aware of what he was doing. "I swear Mr. Gradstein doesn't like me," he complained, shovelling a forkful of lettuce and tuna into his mouth.

"Gee, I wonder why?" Milton said sarcastically, a huge grin on his face, making Jerry grin too. "Maybe it's because you never concentrate, never do your homework, are just a genuine trouble maker..." he trailed off, smirking and Jerry threw a mock punch at his face.

"It's not just you," Kim cut in. "He doesn't like anyone," she said and Jerry couldn't argue with that, having been in his class for the past two years. "But 'least he's not a nit-picker like Mr. Burg," she said in disdain, taking a sip of her coke.

"He's not a nit-picker, Kim," Milton said, shaking his head.

"Yeah he is," Kim insisted, putting her coke down. "Worst part, he doesn't even care if anyone does work or not-"

"Sweet!" Jerry interjected, being quickly silenced by Kim's glare.

"But," she said, narrowing her eyes briefly at him, "he judges people who don't have much money at home, who are fostered or come from care homes, or who are gay." She scrunched her face up in displeasure.

"Really?" Jerry asked in bewilderment. He was pretty sure a teacher could get fired for being so bigoted, but he was probably crafty and did it silently, choosing to save his comments for a bunch of small-minded people like him.

"Yeah." Kim nodded.

"_So_ glad I don't have him," Jerry murmured quietly, getting started on the second mouthful of salad, hoping Kim and Milton didn't hear him. It probably wouldn't bother them if he did tell them he was gay, but it wasn't something he felt the need to say out loud, especially with the popular girls who always seemed to hear innocent sounding things and then turn them into incriminating rumours.

A loud clatter resounded throughout the cafeteria, reducing the loud chatter to whispers and Jerry, Milton and Kim turned around curiously, standing up to peer over the head of the crowd that had already gathered.

A brunette boy was stood motionlessly a few feet away from them. His shaggy brown hair was covering his face and pieces of lettuce were glued to the strands, red - possibly ketchup or tomato sauce from the pizza - and brown stains were splattered across his dark blue shirt and a black tray was laying on top of the mix of pizza, macaroni and a dismembered burger scattered across the floor.

"Watch where you're going, squirt!" a voice yelled. Jerry wasn't at all surprised to see Frank and Brian laughing and cackling at the boy. They thought they were 'all that' and 'ladies men' just because they did Karate at the Black Dragon Dojo - they were proud of it too, always wearing the Dojo's black and red track suit - but Jerry, Kim and Milton did Karate too, thankfully not with them, and were much more modest.

"What's going on over there?" he asked Kim, trying to crane his neck as a tall, beefy student walked over and stood _right_ in his way.

"Frank and Brian are terrorising the new kid," she said with a roll of her eyes.

Jerry did a double-take and looked at her strangely. "There's a new kid?" he asked in surprise. He hadn't heard about any new students.

"Yeah," Milton said, rolling his eyes at him. "You would have known if you haven't slept through the assembly's morning announcements," he chuckled.

The three of them sat down as the crowd around Frank, Brian and the new boy got thicker and harder to see through. Jerry rolled his eyes, but looked back worriedly - seeing nothing but people's backs - as Frank began unleashing scathing insults on the new boy.

"I can't believe you dated that jerk, Kim," Jerry said in disdain.

"Let's not talk about it," she said quickly, looking disgusted. "I just ate the school's macaroni and I do _not_ want to see it again." She glared and both Jerry and Milton in warning, pointing her previously forgotten fork at them. They both held their hands up in surrender.

Jerry watched as the crowd started to disperse, his salad momentarily forgotten. Frank and Brian were still sending insults to the boy, pushing him down and slapping his tray out of his hands every time he tried to retrieve his scattered food.

"I'm gonna go help him," Jerry decided, standing up as the boy was pushed to the floor yet again.

"You want back-up?" Milton asked, standing up with a serious expression on his face.

Jerry chuckled. He appreciated his friend's loyalty, but he was sure _he_ was going to get ripped apart. At least he stood more of a chance, Milton was just like a bony bird and would get crushed. "No, I'm good," he said.

"Great," Milton grinned wildly, sitting back down. "'Cause I couldn't beat them if I tried," he said sheepishly, looking down at his food and Kim rubbed his arm thoughtfully.

Jerry turned his attention back to Frank and Brian; they had stopped slapping the boy's food out of his hands, instead they were just yelling scathing insults at his crumpled form, screaming at him to go away, but smiling goofily when they blocked his attempts at trying. He shook his head in annoyance and strode over.

"You're still here, freak?" Frank asked as the boy was on his knees picking up the school books that he and Brian had taken the liberty of tossing to the ground. "You speak English?" Frank kicked him away and Jerry saw the boy come slowly back up, inhaling sharply. "Go away!" he yelled loudly.

Jerry had to give the boy credit; if that was him in the boy's position, he would have lost his temper by now. He suspected the boy already had, judging from his heavy breathing, but not enough to blow up like a firework. _Yet_.

"Frank, leave him alone," Jerry intervened before Frank had a chance to kick the boy down again.

Frank turned to look at him - clearly the aggressor while Brian was just standing there like and accessory - with a lopsided grin.

"Nah," he drawled out, eyeing the boy on the floor. "The little fairy needs to learn that nobody messes with Frank Bickle and gets away with it." He slammed his fist threateningly down on the table, but accidentally squashed his lunch underneath it, completely counteracting his threat.

"You just punched your food," Jerry told him, stifling his laughter as he pointed to his hand.

Frank looked down at his arm. quickly yanking it from the plate. "Man," he complained, shaking most of it off his hands before wiping the stubborn excess on his shirt.

"I didn't start anything," a low growl of a voice said angrily from beside them.

The boy had gotten up from the floor and was now facing the older boys. His fists were clenched and his dark eyes were staring them down, looking ten times more menacing than Frank and Brian could ever do.

The boy's weren't fazed though, their eyes just glimmered in excitement. "Oh," they said in unison.

"It _does_ speak English," Brian - this was the first time Jerry had heard him speak since he had walked over - said, grinning wildly.

"Guys, leave him alone," Jerry said in a tired sounding voice - didn't they ever get bored?! - stepping forwards slightly, shielding the boy from them.

"Who's gonna make me?" Frank challenged him, a big stupid grin on his face.

"_I am_," the boy's voice was angry enough to make Jerry turn around in surprise, looking at him in shock - were his eyes _that_ dark before? and did his lip usual curl in a snarl like that? - and Brian stepped back, clearly heeding the boy's unspoken warning.

Frank just guffawed, beside himself with laughter. "Yeah, ri-"

He was cut off as the boy slammed his fist into Frank's jaw, knocking him backwards. The cafeteria fell silent and Brian wisely took himself out of the danger zone, running over to where his girlfriend, Lindsay, was sitting.

Frank turned back around, all traces of messing around erased from his face, briefly rubbing his jaw. He looked at the boy with murderous eyes, before throwing his own punch that the boy caught with lightning fast reflexes.

"You probably _shouldn't_ have done that." The boy threw Frank's fist to the side, disrupting his momentum, front-kicking him in the stomach, sending him over the table. The boy leapt over to where Frank was just getting up in a daze and grabbed him by the throat, squeezing the life out of him.

Brian suddenly ran over to them, body-slamming the boy into the counter with the plates. He fell down, the plates pelting him while he gritted his teeth. Frank and Brian began kicking him while he was trying to get up, their hits landing painfully on his arms and legs.

The boy's hand whipped out and grabbed one of Frank's legs, throwing him high into the air. He stood up and expertly round-house kicked Brian in the head, sending him down. He then jumped from a standing position into the air - Jerry felt his mouth drop open is amazement at this boy's skill and agility - to where Frank was falling.

He twisted fully upright and extended his right leg whilst tucking his left one underneath him, smacking it down _hard_ on Frank's chest.

The force of the boy's kick sent Frank streaming down into the table, crashing into it and smashing it neatly down the middle and mangling the legs underneath. The boy landed flawlessly back on the floor, eyeing Frank venomously as he writhed in pain, spitting on him to add salt to the injury of embarrassment. Brian was nowhere to be seen.

The cafeteria's silence was broken as everyone burst into rapid, demeaning applause, lasting for a few moments before dying back down to normal chatter. Jerry felt no pity for Frank; it wasn't like he hadn't had it coming with the way he had treated the new boy. He had found himself amazed at the boy's strength though; it was surprising to say the least.

Jerry walked over to the boy, seeing he was limping. Up close, he looked more terrifying; he was half a hand span taller than him and had visible, bulging muscles under his food-stained shirt and his eyes were so dark they looked red.

He swallowed his nervousness and asked the boy, "Hey, are you okay?"

His head snapped up, a peculiar look in his eyes, like he couldn't believe anyone was showing him anything other than malice and hatred. "I'm fine," he said, a hard edge to his voice.

He moved his hand from his arm, a bright red cut was visible and blood was trickling from it. "You're bleeding," Jerry exclaimed.

"I said I'm fine!" the boy snapped, glaring at him, all his repressed anger was bursting forth from the calm surface of his exterior. "Now leave me alone," he ordered coldly, turning around and heading for the door.

Jerry stood there stunned for a minute. He got that the boy was angry, but why was he treating _him_ like he was the one who had starting picking on him?

"What?" he said, voicing his confusion, shaking his head. He started after the boy, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Hey-"

He cried out in pain as the boy had twisted his arm painfully behind his back, impossibly fast. "What part of 'leave me alone' got lost in translation?!" he hissed coldly, angrily in Jerry's ear, pressing down hard on his shoulder with his free hand, before releasing him and storming off.

Jerry, slightly intrigued and offended by the boy's sudden hostility towards him, and made his way over towards Kim and Milton in a confused daze. He sat back down and animatedly on his untouched salad.

"What happened?" Kim asked, adjusting her chair and leaning towards him.

"I helped him, kind of," Jerry said in a confused voice. He was still trying to figure out what the boy's problem was. "And then I told him he was bleeding and he started yelling at me to leave him alone," he said.

"He's probably just had a rough day so far," Kim offered.

"Yeah..." Jerry mumbled. "Probably," he added quietly.

He decided to keep quiet about the boy's strength because it wasn't even something _he_ understood. All he knew was that it seemed somehow... _superhuman_, but that was impossible.

Wasn't it?

* * *

Jerry groaned in annoyance, slumping into the cradle of his arms. Unfortunately for him and the entire class, Kim had made the fatal mistake of asking Mrs. Bueller to repeat something that she didn't understand.

"For the last time, Miss Crawford," Mrs. Bueller was saying in an exasperated tone. "A covalent bond is a bond between two non-metallic elements, which means their molecules hold the same elements. Or it is a type of a chemical bond in which there is a mutual sharing of electrons. It is further classified into single, double and triple covalent bonds with respect to mutual sharing or one, two and three bonds, respectively. Their symbols are single, double and triple lines between two atoms, according to their type of covalent bond," she finished, taking a deep breath, looking at Kim expectantly.

"Thanks," the blonde nodded with an overly exaggerated smile on her face as Mrs Bueller was still looking at her. When she turned around, the smile dropped and she turned to Jerry and Milton, hissing, "What the hell did she just say?!"

"Even _I_ couldn't follow that," Milton said, shaking his head.

"All I heard was bond, bond, bond," Jerry whispered to her as Mrs. Bueller started talking about something completely different to chemical bonding. "I'm pretty sure this class isn't a James Bond reunion," he sniggered, receiving small smiles from Kim and Milton.

Jerry sighed and rubbed a hand over his face, his eyes travelling over to the diagram and jumbled words written on the board. He blinked, trying to clear his focus, but it wasn't working. He _couldn't_ concentrate.

He couldn't stop thinking about that new boy. He had been _incredibly _strong when fighting Frank and Brian, his Karate skills besting theirs by any measure, being able to hold Frank in the air while he kicked Brian into a table, breaking it. But afterwards was the bit that had confused Jerry; the boy was bleeding, no-one else was helping him, and he blew up out of nowhere, screaming to be left alone.

_What was the matter with him? I was only asking if he was okay, _Jerry thought as the door opened, distracting him as he was starting to grasp the concept of the lesson.

The brunette boy from the cafeteria was stood in the doorway. He had cleaned himself up, no traces of food on his new black clothing - black seemed to make him look more intimidating, Jerry couldn't explain it - and he looked a lot more calmer than he had. Jerry noticed his arm had stopped bleeding, but there was a lack of scarring or scabbing like he would have expected from the crimson fountain the boy's arm had been.

"Seems we have a straggler," Mrs. Bueller announced to the class, before turning to the boy standing in the doorway.

"Sorry," he apologised. "Still trying to learn my way around," he said.

Mrs. Bueller's eyes narrowed sharply at him. "What about your student monitor?" she asked. "Where is he?" She looked behind him, but no-one else was there, just the empty hallway.

Jack looked uncomfortable, shifting uneasily on the spot, disguising it with the way he hoisted his bag over his shoulder. "Couldn't find him," he shrugged.

"Alright," Mrs. Bueller said, moving to let the new boy inside. "I'll give you a pass this time" - Jerry, and Kim and Milton, did a double-take. Mrs. Bueller never gave _anyone_ a free pass, not even a kid who had broken his leg - "take your seat; you're sitting over there with Jerry, Kim and Milton," she said, pointing over to the table at the back.

Jerry watched as the boy walked towards the table, silently setting himself on the spare chair and pulling a pencil from his pocket. Jerry couldn't remember the boy ever being nervous, especially in the face of Frank and Brian, so it seemed strange that he was quiet. Come to think of it, nearly _everything_ about the still-nameless boy struck him as 'strange'.

"This is awkward," Milton observed with a slight snigger. "_Ow!_" he said after a sudden start, bending down to rub his ankle.

Jerry looked at Kim and she just smiled innocently.

The boy turned slightly towards him. "I'm sorry about what happened earlier," he apologised softly. "I was just upset," he mumbled.

"No problem, man." Jerry dared to lay a hand on his shoulder, surprised when he smiled instead of yelling at him. "Frank's a jerk" - Kim and Milton nodded in agreement beside him - "I don't blame you for being mad," Jerry said gently, feeling a little on-edge around this boy for some reason.

"I'm Jack," he said after a moment of silence. "Jack Brewer," he added with a strangely dashing smile.

_Woah, his teeth are __**white**__, _Jerry thought, quickly observing them before Jack's mouth closed.

"I'm Jerry 'flight-risk' Martinez," he introduced himself proudly, deciding then and there his reputation was a great hook to his name. "And that's Kim" - he pointed to her and she smiled warmly at Jack, getting one in return, clearly charming enough to make her blush - "and Milton." He waved a hand in Milton's direction and Jack smiled again.

"So, when did you move here?" Kim asked curiously.

"A few weeks ago," Jack said, leaning against the table. "My Mum thought I should know the town first and then the school," he said with a sly smile that only Jerry seemed to notice.

"Let me just repeat that for the four idle chit-chatter's in the back," Mrs. Bueller said loudly, cutting Milton off from asking Jack something. The four of them sheepishly turned around, gluing their eyes to the board.

"Today we will be learning about human cell structure," Mrs. Bueller said, pointing to a picture of human cells. "So you will all be analysing a swab of your own DNA" - Jerry heard Jack's chair shift uncomfortably beside him - "maybe you'll learn something interesting about yourselves?" she said, trying to bring some fun into what was going to be a very boring lesson.

Jerry had no problem hiding his disdain. "Riveting," he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Maybe afterwards we can go point at clouds," he suggested in a light, high voice that had Jack, Kim and Milton sniggering.

Mrs. Bueller narrowed her eyes, having heard him. "Your designated equipment is already prepared," she said, gesturing over to the empty table that had microscope and cotton swabs on it, giving them a not-so-secret glare. "You have the rest of the hour to study your cell structure and sketch it," she said. "We will compare them next lesson."

Milton went to get the microscope and cotton swabs and Jerry noticed Kim staring at Jack in bewilderment. His eyes followed hers and landed on a rigid Jack. He was staring blankly at a bottle of blue liquid behind Kim and he was... _shaking?_

Jerry studied him over quickly. He was definitely shaking. "Jack?" he asked in concern. "Are you okay?" He laid a hand on Jack's leg and the contact was enough to break Jack's staring at the beaker.

"Yeah," he said in a daze, shaking his head. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine," he smiled, sounding tired all of a sudden.

Jerry was about to ask him something about his fight at lunch, but Milton interrupted with an exuberant, "Who's going first?" when he set the microscope down on the table and sat back down himself. Jack was looking increasingly nervous.

"I'll do it." Kim picked up a cotton swab and stuck it in her mouth, wiping it against her cheek. She picked up a small glass slide and rolled the saliva-coated end of the swab onto it, placing an even smaller glass circle over it. She slipped it into the bottom of the microscope, peering into it. "Fascinating," she said dryly.

"Jack?" she offered, pushing it towards him.

He wordlessly swabbed inside his own mouth, setting up the slide. He took Kim's DNA slide out of the microscope and replaced it with his own, peering into it, retreating after a while with what seemed to be a disgusted look. Jerry watched him, noticing he was shaking once more, although clearly not as visible.

Kim pulled the microscope back towards her and looked at Jack's cell structure, sliding her own back under, examining it with a bewildered expression.

"Your cell structure's different to mine," Kim noted, looking back into the microscope and alternating between the two slides, her face turning from confused to... _amazed?_

"Probably 'cause you're a girl," Jack offered, albeit nervously.

"All human's have the same cell structure," Milton interjected with a small smile. "Gender doesn't matter," he said.

Jack made a face like he acknowledged him, but he just looked increasingly nervous and uncomfortable, agitatedly tapping his fingers on the desk.

"Maybe Jack's just special," Kim chuckled and Jack smiled back, uneasily, peering into the microscope again.

Jerry was beginning to think 'special' wasn't the right word. There was something about Jack, something... strange. He couldn't quite put his finger on it.

* * *

**Well, I hope you all liked it (tell me if there's anything I could improve on or anything else) and I will see you all next time.**

**Remember to review. ;)**


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